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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the speaker characterize Venus's lapse into unconsciousness?

2. Which is the best definition of "bootless" in the context of line 422?

3. To whom is Venus referring when she brags about being courted by the god of war?

4. What technique is used in line 111, "Strong-temper’d steel his stronger strength obey’d"?

5. Which technique is used in line 219, "Red cheeks and fiery eyes blaze forth her wrong"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Venus convey in the speech about her senses that begins in line 433, "Had I no eyes but ears"?

2. How do Venus and Adonis end up on the ground together?

3. Throughout the passage, which participants in a trial is Venus compared to?

4. What happens when Adonis tries to get back on his horse and leave?

5. What does Venus tell Adonis he can learn from his horse?

6. How does the mare react to the stallion at first, and how does her reaction change?

7. What does Venus tell Adonis would happen if their positions were reversed?

8. In lines 131 and 132, what does Venus mean when she tells Adonis that "Fair flowers that are not gather’d in their prime/ Rot, and consume themselves in little time"?

9. Throughout the first 36 stanzas, how is Adonis depicted?

10. Explain the conceit that Venus uses when she compares herself to a park.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Shakespeare, like many Elizabethans, was very interested in the issue of the "natural" versus the "unnatural." How does his use of hunting symbolism in Venus and Adonis explore this issue? Is hunting presented as a natural or unnatural activity? For whom? How do his treatment of Artemis and his use of the stallion as a foil for Adonis support his perspective on who should engage in hunting? Why does Shakespeare omit the role of Cupid in Venus's desire for Adonis? Where are Cupid and his arrows actually mentioned in the poem, and how does Cupid's role as "hunter" figure into the poem's meaning? What does Adonis's manner of death communicate about hunting? Write an essay in which you analyze the messages about natural and unnatural behavior conveyed by the poem's hunting symbolism. Support your analysis with evidence from the poem, citing any quoted material in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

A year after he published Venus and Adonis, Shakespeare published his only other epyllion, The Rape of Lucrece. Does this poem seem as heavily influenced by drama as Venus and Adonis? Read enough of this second epyllion to have a sense of its style. Then, write an essay that compares and contrasts these two mini-epics, focusing your analysis on the extent to which the poems emphasize dialogue and immediate action. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from both poems, and cite any quoted language in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

What does Venus and Adonis convey about lust and love? In the world of the poem, how do the two emotions relate to one another? Is there any difference between these two feelings? Does either lead to human happiness? What do love and lust look like in practice, and how do they impact the characters in the poem? How do the two feelings relate to morality? Write an essay in which you take and defend a position about the messages that Venus and Adonis conveys about love and lust. Support your analysis with evidence from the poem, citing any quoted material in MLA format.

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